so the other night i went spear fishing with tui, my new fijian friend. before getting in the water tui recites a lengthy prayer in fijian (fiji is very religious. the missionaries did a number on the pacific islands. it's sad to see indigenous religions go by the wayside). soon afterwards i ask tui "so is there anything i should worry about down there"? "we've already said our prayer, He must take care of the rest" comes his reply.....

it's not long after we've speared a couple of lobsters when we cross paths with a 4 meter (12 foot) white tip reef shark. I think back to our discussion on sharks..."yes we have lots of sharks in fiji but only friendly ones. if we see one just say 'bula' (fijian greeting). with this in mind i say "bula" to the shark with the hope that he won't become curious about the lobsters and fish that dangle from a wire around my wrist. interestingly enough, all of the shark descriptions i've read mention that certain sharks are "quite dangerous especially in the vicinity of spear fishing". the white tip happens to be such a shark. this shark, however, merely swam by and even appeared magnanimous. i'd like to think that we're on friendly terms after our little encounter...

so you see, it's good to be in the tropics again. i love fiji. pineapple? yes please. papaya with lime? of course. coconut anyone? don't mind if i do (i'm also perfecting my coconut tree climbing methods over here).

so my plan, as it stands now, is to cruise these islands on the boat for the next month or two (so much left to discover - people, fish, hundreds of tropical isles with sun swept white sand beaches and copious amounts of coral). then, i'd like to get my scuba liscense (if not sooner). then head elsewhere. more specifically sail elsewhere if i can manage that. thailand, malaysia, india, china (as my mom suggests), eventually africa to see my bro and the fam (can't wait for that)...any suggestions people? i feel like i'm on a roll here and i don't want to lose my momentum anytime soon...

also more pictures are coming it's just that internet connection is really slow here, especially considering that i am usually on a boat in the ocean where getting a wireless signal is hit or miss to say the least.

a typical fijian vista.

lautoka market. fresh fruit and veg abound after the passage.

sometimes the captain gets angry, so i made him this card on his birthday to cheer him up (nod to ayla for the inspiration).

sometimes, if you're lucky, the boat is balanced perfectly and you can just lay back whilst "steering." i realized this one night around 3 am. shortly afterwards i was dancing to madonna "holiday" and celebrating my newfound freedom. seriously, dancing in the moonlight on a boat in the pacific to classic madonna.

a full moon is on the rise...

more of that wahoo...

we had some strong winds and big waves to sail through coming into fiji. as the rest of the crew would later tell me, i could be heard singing and talking to myself (with the occassional scream) for the duration of this shift. bursting with wahoo all the while (as switters might put it).

this is the baby's momma that i'm reeling in: ie a big motha mahi as you can tell from the tension on the line. we lost her off the gaff inches from my fingertips. NOOO. earlier i also caught an albatross (distant cousin of the pterodactyl) that was about the size of me. this experience was terrible for both the bird and myself.

this is a baby mahi mahi that i caught and we ate for lunch soon after. delish.

fresh mussels with garlic butter cream sauce. damn we're good.

we's going on a mussel hunt!